The Alien Costume, Part I
The Alien Costume, Part I is the eighth episode of season one. This episode introduces Rhino, John Jameson, and the alien symbiote. Plot On an asteroid in space astronaut, John Jameson discovers a strange black rock and digs it out of the ground. As John removes the rock from the ground a black liquid begins to seep to the surface of the astroid and an earthquake starts. Along with the rock, Jameson manages to make it back to the shuttle before breaking ground can swallow him. Back on Earth, J. Jonah Jameson and the Daily Bugle staff watch a news report on John Jameson and Paul Stevenson are schedueled to land at Kennedy Airport. As Peter Parker congratulates Jameson, Jameson replies that "He's just his father." Robbie then says that John is a great guy and that he must have had something to do with that. However, Peter thinks to himself that "the apple fell far from the tree." As they continue to watch the news report the anchorman says that they are bringing with them a new isotope called Promethium X which could be more powerful than plutonium. Meanwhile at Crime Central, Kingpin is watching the same news report and decides that he wants it for himself. Seconds later John and Stevenson begin reentry into Earth's atmosphere. While they do this a black slime oozes out of the Promethium X and and makes it's way into the cockpit. The news reporter then switchs to a live video feed of the astronauts. The black ooze then starts to cover Stevenson which terrifies him. This also causes Stevensn to lose control of the shuttle which will crash somewhere in New York City. Peter then makes a call to Aunt May telling her to get into the basement. Back at Crime Central, Kingpin tells Alistair Smythe that they must evacuate the building because the shuttle could crash into them any moment. However, Smythe tells Kingpin that he has been studying the shuttles trajectory and he believes that it will hit the George Washington Bridge. Kingpin then calls a criminal called the Rhino and tells him to go to the George Washington Bridge to steal the Promethium X for him. The news anchor then reports that the shuttle will crash in the Hudson River near the George Wasgington Bridge. After hearing this J. Jonah Jameson tells Robbie to get into the helicopter. However, Robbie replies that air traffic wont be allowed in the area. Jameson ignores his warnings and leaves anyway. Peter also sneaks out and changes into his Spider-Man suit. At that moment on the bridge, Eddie Brock ignores the warnings about the shuttle that is bring reported on the radio and decides to take pictures of the crash. Back at Crime Central, Kingpin is worried that the shuttle will hit them. However, Alistair tells Kingpin not to worry. Kingpin then watches as the shuttle flies past Crime Central without causing any damage to the building. John is then able to fly the shuttle toward the bridge so that it won't cause any damage to the city. However, Rhino is waiting on the bridge. As the shuttle lands on the bridge Brock jumps out of the way before it can crush him. Seconds later Spider-Man arrives and notices that the door has been pulled off of the shuttle. As Spider-Man enters the shuttle he calls out to John. Rhino then steps out and Spider-Man sees him. Rhino then charges at Spider-Man. However, Spider-Man jumps out of the way and Rhino hits the shuttle with his head. The shuttle then starts to shake and Spider-Man warns Rhino that if he continues the shuttle will fall into the Hudson River. Rhino then runs toward Spider-Man again and manages to hit him with his head which knocks out the wall crawler. As Rhino is about to kill Spider-Man, Kingpin communicates with Rhino through a headpiece microphone and tells him to return to Crime Central if he has the Promethium X. As Rhino walks past Spider-Man, Spidery places a spider tracer on the back of his leg. As the Rhino exits the shuttle Eddie Brock takes pictures of him as he uses his strangth to knock cars out of his way. As Spider-Man gets John and Paul to safety he hears a noise coming from inside the shuttle. When Spider-Man goes back inside the shuttle falls into the Hudson River. At that moment J. Jonah Jameson arrives and he runs to his son. John is weak from his experience and mentions a black tar like substance, the bridge and Spider-Man. This leads J. Jonah Jameson to believe that the crash was somehow caused by Spider-Man. Brock then walks up to Jameson and says that he has photographic proof of Spider-Man stealing something from the shuttle and that he will give them to Jameson but only if he gets his job at the Bugle back. Jameson agrees knowing that he can use thos photographs to finally ruin Spider-Man. Seconds later Spider-Man comes out of the Hudson River and sees that there is black slime on his costume. Spider-Man then heads into the city to find Rhino. As Spider-Man looks at his GPS he sees that it has lost the signal to the Spider Tracer he placed on Rhino. Spider-Man then deduces that the spider tracer is broken or Rhino is in a place that it built like a fortress. At that moment Rhino is in Crime Central and hands Kingpin the Promethium X. Rhino then asks what's the big deal about a rock. Smythe replies that Promethium X is the most powerful nuclear fuel in the world. Smythe continues by saying that he can't wait to study it. However, Kingpin says that he has a buyer lined up and that he does not want to wait anylonger to get the Prpmethium X. Rhino says that it just looks like a rock to him and Kingpin tells Rhino not to confuse Promethium X with his brain. That night at the Parker house, Aunt May watches a news report saying that Spider-Man was the one that stole the Promethium X from the shuttle. Just then Peter walks in through the front door. Peter then tells May that Spider-Man saved the astronauts. However, May tells Peter that she saw on the news that Spider-Man robbed the shuttle which surprised Peter. Reporters then interview J. Jonah Jameson who is at the hospital with his son and he says that Spider-Man is responsible for putting his son in his critical state and that he will give one million dollars to anyone who can capture him. May then says that Spider-Man will finally get what he deserves and as Peter walks away he gets upset about how Spider-Man is always blamed for everything. Peter then goes upstairs to his room and throws his Spider-Man costume into his closet. As Peter goes to sleep the black slime from his costume goes onto his bed and covers him. Peter then has a nightmare where a black blob and his Spider-Man costume fight over him. The black blob wins and then eats Peter. As Peter wakes up he discovers that he is in the middle of the city hanging upside down from a building in a strange black costume. As a helicopter flies by the pilot spots Spider-Man.To Spider-Man's surprise his webbing begins to shoot out by itself. Spider-Man also learns that his agility is now enhanced because he almost jumped over an entire rooftop and that he could never jump that far before. As Spider-Man swings away the helicopter follows him. Spider-Man then lands on the street and the helicopter pilot calls for ground support. However, Spider-Man shoots a webline and is able to swing away. Spider-Man then realizes that the black suit has enhanced all of his spider powers. Spider-Man then tests his strength by picking up a firetruck with ease. A man then sees Spider-Man behind the firetruck and yells at the police telling them where he is. The costume then transforms into a police uniform and Peter is able to fool the police officers that are looking for him. The next day Spider-Man web swings to Empire State University. Spider-Man then sticks to the wall of a near by building and realizes that nothing on Earth could do what his new black suit can do and wonders if it came from the shuttle. Peter then tests the suits shapeshifting powers and has the suit morph into an Italian suit. Peter then jumps to the ground where he is spotted by Felicia Hardy. As Peter flirts with Felicia, Flash Thompson walks up angry that Peter is talking to Felicia. However, Felicia tells Flash that she is not his girl. As Flash walks away with Felicia to talk with her Peter stand up to Flash. Peter grabs Flash by his jacket but is stopped by Felicia before he can harm Flash. As Felicia walks away with Flash she turns to Peter and tells him that he is different and it scares her. However, Peter tells himself that he has never felt better in his life. Later that day at Crime Central, Smythe tells Kingpin that he can not demonstrate the power of Promethium X to his buyers if he doesn't have special control rods. Kingpin orders Smythe to get them. However, Smythe replies that all control rods made of lidium 90 are in a government facility that they have no access to. Kingpin then calls Rhino and tells him that he has another job for him. That night at the Parker house May asks Peter to stop taking pictures of Spider-Man because now that he is being hunted she feels that he will eventually get hurt. As May continues to tell Peter how dangerous it will be to take pictures of Spider-Man, Peter gets angry at her and goes to his room not wanting to hear what she has to say. When Peter enters his room he hears his GPS beep and realizes that it has picked up the signal from the spider tracer he planted on Rhino. The costume then morphs back into it's true form and Spider-Man goes after Rhino. Cast Cameos *Joe Perry (Indirectly mentioned) Locations *Space :*Asteroid *New York City :*Daily Bugle :*Crime Central :*George Washington Bridge :*Hudson River :*Parker house :*Bellevue Hospital :*Manhattan :*Empire State Univerity :*Military base Items *Space shuttle *Promethium X *symbiote *Web shooters *Spider tracer *Lidium 90 Control Rods Continuity Trivia *Bellevue Hospital (the hospital John Jameson is taken to) is a real hospital located in South Manhattan. *The dream sequence where the symbiote and the Spider-Man costume fight over Peter Parker is adapted from Amazing Spider-Man #258 (1984). *In the comics Spider-Man got the symbiote costume while on the alien planet, Battle World. This occurred in part eight of the 1984, Secret Wars limited series. *When Peter Parker is testing the symbiote's shape shifting powers he uses it to transform into the clothes worn by "That guy from Aerosmith." This is a reference to Aerosmith's lead guitarist Joe Perry who also preformed the theme song to Spider-Man: The Animated Series. *During the episode Peter Parker calls Rhino the Jolly Gray Giant. This is a reference to the Jolly Green Giant who is the mascot for the Green Giant vegetable company. :*Jolly Green Giant is also a nickname used for the Incredible Hulk. *The name of the military base Rhino breaks into is never revealed. However, the George Washington Bridge is clearly visible in the background. The base might be Fort Hamilton since in real life the George Washington Bridge can bee seen from Fort Hamilton. Episode review Quotes "Congratulations Mr. Jameson." "What are you congradulating me for? I'm just his father." "John's a great guy. You musta had something to do with it." "If you ask me the apple fell pretty far from the tree." :'-Peter Parker, J. Jonah Jameson & Joseph Robertson' "I have a job for you. There's something aboard the shuttle I want you to get for me." "What shuttle?" :'-Kingpin and Rhino' "If that punk Parker can click one of these so can I." :'-Eddie Brock' "Show a little faith. I know my trajectories." :'-Alistair Smythe' "Where did you come from?" "Jersey." "Got a claim check for that bag?" "Check this." "Hey pal, watch it or we'll both be going for a swim!" :'-Spider-Man and Rhino' "JJ!" "Brock!" "Your not gonna believe this JJ. I saw Spider-Man stealing something from the shuttle, and I got the pictures to prove it right here." "So he was here." "Just give he my old job back JJ and these pictures are all yours." "I'll take 'em Brock. I finally got that wall crawling sack of garbage." :'-Eddie Brock and J. Jonah Jameson' "That's some river pollution. Rich and creamy." :'-Spider-Man after walking out of the Hudson and seeing the symbiote on his costume' "So here it is. What's the big deal?" "This is Promethium X. Potentially the most powerful nuclear fuel in the world. I can't wait to examine it." "No time Smythe! I've got a buyer lined up and he wants it yesterday." "It looks like a rock to me." "Please do not confuse this (Promethium X) with that" (Kingpin thumps Rhino's head). :'-Rhino, Alistair Smythe and Kingpin' "Spider-Man did it. I'm sure of it. So sure that I'm offering a million dollars to anyone who brings him in. One million dollars." "I can't believe this! How could they get it so wrong? It's the Spider-Man justice system, guilty until proven innocent!" "Now there's nowhere Spider-Man can run. At last he'll get what he deserves." "Thanks Aunt May, I needed that." :'-J. Jonah Jameson, May Parker & Peter Parker' "A million dollars on my head. For once in my life I'm worth something I can't collect. No choice but to lay low. Well, the one saving grace is I don't have to clean you up now." :'-Peter Parker' "Parker, how on Earth did you get in the middle of Manhattan, hanging upside down in a costume you've never seen before?" :'-Spider-Man' "It's amazing this suit is augmenting every one of my spider powers. I wonder how strong I am now." (Spider-Man picks up a firetruck with ease.) "I use to have trouble lifting a Volkswagen." :'-Spider-Man' "I like your style, but it would be nice if you were a little less conspicuous." (The symbiote transforms into a police uniform.) "Your definitely my kind of suit." :'-Spider-Man' "Ya know, I think I'll keep you." :'-Peter Parker talking about the symbiote' "Nothing on Earth can do what this does. Could it have come from the shuttle?" Peter Parker." (The symbiote transforms into clothes worn by Peter Parker) "No, wait. How 'bout that guy from Aerosmith." (The symbiote transforms into clothes worn by Joe Perry.) "Maybe something more traditional, something Italian." (The symbiote transforms into a suit.) :'-Peter Parker while testing the symbiote's powers' "Looks like my life is going to be pretty interesting from now on." :'-Peter Parker' "Parker, is that you?" "Well lately I'm not so sure." "I almost didn't recognize you. You seem so, so different." "You don't know how different. But then again maybe you'd like to find out?" "Hitting on my girl Parker!" "Your girl? What on Earth ever gave you that idea Flash?" "Well I thought that. . . Parker, Felicia and I need to talk so why don't you crawl back under your rock." "Not this time bone head." "Now Felicia. . . what did you say?" "I believe it had something to do with the contents of your skull." "Ha ha ha. Well this is a twist. Look who's suddenly developed a backbone." (Peter grabs Flash by his jacket.) "I've developed a lot more than a backbone." (Felicia runs over and breaks them up.) "Parker! Flash, don't you have a class to get to? Flash!" "But Felicia." "Whats gotten into you?" "Just bein' myself." "You know something Peter you are different, and you scare me." "What's she talkin' about. I've never felt so good." :'-Peter Parker, Felicia Hardy and Flash Thompson' "Nothing is inaccessible to me." :'-Kingpin' "The jolly gray giant, he's back." :'-Peter Parker' Category:Episodes Category:Season 1 episodes Category:A-Z